Restaurant review: Hey Hey Bar

Thursday

Feb 21, 2013 at 12:01 AMFeb 21, 2013 at 9:53 PM

If I said Hey Hey Bar was a great place to eat dinner, you'd probably laugh. And you'd be right to - unless you knew that Angela Theado, the talented ex-Alana's sous chef who used to run an impressive food truck called The Coop, is now in charge of Hey Hey's kitchen every Thursday through Saturday. This makes for a strange marriage.

G.A. Benton, Columbus Alive

If I said Hey Hey Bar was a great place to eat dinner, you'd probably laugh. And you'd be right to - unless you knew that Angela Theado, the talented ex-Alana's sous chef who used to run an impressive food truck called The Coop, is now in charge of Hey Hey's kitchen every Thursday through Saturday. This makes for a strange marriage.

Sort of an odd and divey "old man's bar" (a genre I happen to love), Hey Hey's been serving German Village swillers since before Prohibition. While it's undergone a much-appreciated sprucing up - and its middle room is actually a cute dining space now (with fanciful napkins, tablecloths and wonderful "olde" German Village baseball-related historical stuff) - vintage brick-flaunting Hey Hey is still rickety and peculiar. So along with wobbly booth tables, the front barroom's got: a near life-size baby hippo atop a beer cooler; a "dalmingo" (Dalmatian flamingo); a 250-pound limestone with shamrocks and "Hey Hey" carved into it; and a Tim Burton-esque caricature of Peter Lorre allegedly painted by Humphrey Bogart's grandson.

Yup, that's the unlikely setting for Theado's forceful, soulful and inexpensive food. I suppose I could tell you I have first-hand proof that seemingly unsuited partners can form successful unions, but I suggest you verify this yourself by checking-out hip chowhounds rubbing elbows with elbow-bending veterans in Hey Hey - and digging Theado's bold ("G-word" alert!) gastropub-style fare.

After ordering a brew (CBC's terrific IPA is on tap), peruse the little menu and pay attention to the "you-want-'em" nightly specials read by an uncommonly friendly waiter (read bartender). Soups du jour ($2.50) are a sure thing, like an obviously homemade-stock-based Turkey Tortilla. Sorta riffing on pozole, that delicious slurp sporting a fine toasted corn character was loaded with dark gobbler meat and punctuated with cilantro, hominy, carrots plus crispy tortilla strips. Also excellent was a refreshingly harmonious and un-gloppy beer and cheese soup with a piquant edge.

Might as well cop a punching-above-its-weight, vinegary pickled egg too; it's only a buck and comes sprinkled with housemade celery salt. Theado smartly offers another long-beloved beer buddy - Hey Hey's famous Sauerkraut Balls ($5). When I enjoyed them, they were crispy outside and mustardy, herby and peppery inside.

Asian accents also graced the earthy, lusty and characteristically overachieving "Daily" Duck Confit ($13). That falling-off-the-bone, dark meat quarter bird was further intensified with shiitakes, a deep and dark jus/broth, shaved Parmesan and extra-crunchy home fries. I loved it, even if a potentially spellbreaking but richness-cutting acidic flourish would have been welcome.

Bright, pickled fennel supplied in-your-face counterpoint for another excellent daily special - a huge and tender, eggy-battered Chicken Francaise Sandwich ($9; comes with a side). This hoagie-rolled winner, which was complemented by an herby green goddess dressing (an old-schooler making a "comeback") provided just a hint of this enticing operation's intriguing potential.